Tobacco-stripping machine.



Patented nu. 4,1900.

J. H. SCHMIDT. TOBACCO-STRIPPING MACHINE.

(Applictii. med Apr. e, 1960.1

2 SheetsVf-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

/vE/voff I gum H. SM y Arm/mfr JULIUS I-I. SCHMIDT, OF BAYONNE PATENT Ornion.

, NEV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SCHMIDT-PERRIN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY,

NEW JERSEY.

TOBACCO-STRIPPING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,241, dated December 4, 1900.

Application filed April 6, 1900. Serial No. 11.799. (No model Y To (1J/Z whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JULIUs H. SCHMIDT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bayonne, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Stripping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in tobacco-stripping machines; and it consists in the novel features, arrangement, and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention'is to construct a machine for effectively performing the operation known as stripping tobaccothat is to say, the removal of the stem from the leaf.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top View of a machine constructed in accordance with and embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a detached vertical section of a portion of the same on the dotted line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of a folded tobacco-leaf shown in the condition preparatory to being introduced to the machine presented in Fig. 1 for the purpose of having the stem thereof removed. Fig. 4 is accu tral vertical section through the machine on the dotted line 4 4 of Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section through the machine on the dotted line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detached vertical transverse section through a portion of the machine on the dotted line 6 6 of Fig. 7 and illustrating the folded tobacco-leaf as being fed inward by the feedrollers and having its stem removed by the rotary cutting-knives. Fig. 7 is a detached top view of a portion of the machine and is intended to illustrate more particularly that part of the feed-table which is grooved adjacent to the cutting-knives to receive the stem of the tobacco-leaf. Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section of same on the dotted line 8 8 of Fig. 7.

The mechanism comprising the machine made the subject hereoi` is supported from two side frames or arms 15 15, which at their rear ends are secured to any suitable base or support 16, as indicated in Fig. 4E. The arms or side frames 15 15 extend upward and then frontward and at their front portions carry the arms 17 17, upon which the feed-table 18 is secured'said feed-table 18 being of suitable form and dimensions and adapted to support the tobacco-leaves as the latter are one after another fed inward to the machine, as

indicated in Fig. 1.

Between the side frames or arms 15 l5 is arranged the endless belt 19, the latter being mounted upon rollers 20 20, secured upon the transverse shafts 21 21, which are mounted in said side frames 15 15 and one of which shafts is provided with the belt-wheel 22 or other convenient means to which power may be applied in a well-known manner for operating the machine. The belt 19 is employed, as hereinafter more fully pointed out, for carrying away the stems cut frm the tobaccoleaves.

At their front ends the side frames 0r arms 15 15 carry the transverse shaft 23, on which is secured, as shown in Fig. 5, the lower feed roller 24, the grooved wheel 25, whose edge 26 constitutes the lower cutter, the gear-wheel 27, and the gear-wheel 2S, to which gear-wheel 2S motion is imparted for the purpose of driving` the said shaft 23 and the elements mountedl thereon. VAbove the feed-roller 24 isa corresponding feed-roller 29, the latter being secured upon the shaft 30, carried by the yoke 31, secured to the arm 32, which extends front ward from the shaft 33, said arm 32 being freely mounted on said shaft 33, so that the feed-roller 29 may yield upward from the feedroller 24 to the extent necessary for the proper reception of the tobacco-leaf between said rollers. The arm 32 is connected with the spring 133, which exerts a normal downward tension upon said arm 32,whereby the upper feed-roller 29 is normally and yieldingly kept pressed against the roller 24. The feed-rollers 24C and 29 will preferably be formed of rubber, as indicated in Fig. 6, in order that they may present reasonablT soft or yielding surfaces to the tobacco-leaves and not injure the latter during the removal of the stem therefrom.

Above the shaft 2 3 and in line with the feedroller 29 is mounted the auxiliary shaft` 34, having its bearing in'the sleeve 35, constituting a portion of one of the side frames 15, and upon this shaft 34 is secured the sleeve 36, having atits outerend the gear-wheel 37 and at its inner end the upper cutter 38, as shown in Fig. 5, said gear-wheel 37 being in engagement with the gear-wheel 27 on the shaft 23 and the edge of the said cutter 38 overlapping and being adapted to coperate with the lower cutter 26. Upon the sleeve 36 is freely mounted the grooved collar 39, between which and the gear-wheel 37is provided the coiled spring 40, the latter normally pressing against the collar 39 and keeping the latter under a constant tension toward the cutter 38. The stem of the tobacco-leaf will pass between the cutter 38 and collar 39 and said collar will operate to yieldingly keep the stem portion of the leaf up against the cutter 38, whereby only the stem will be cut from the leaf, as hereinafter more fully explained. The sleeve 36 is rigid upon the shaft 34 and rotates with said shaft, said sleeve 36 receiving its motion from the shaft 23 through the medium of the gearwheels 27 and 37. The shaft 23 receives its motion from the rear transverse shaft 21 through the medium of the sprocket-wheel 41 on said rear shaft 21, the sprocket-chain 42, the sprocket-wheel 43 on the shaft 44, the gear-wheel 45 on said shaft 44, the intermediate gear-wheel or idler 46, and the gear-wheel 28 on said shaft 23, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 5. The invention is not, of course, limited to any special mechanism for driving the shaft 23, it being only necessary that suitable means be employed for driving said shaft and that said shaft and the shaft 34 rotate simultaneously and toward one another, so that the cutters 26 and 38 may properly cooperate with one another. The shaft 44 is directly in the rear of the shaft 23 and upon its outer end is secured the said sprocket-wheel 43, while upon its inner end is secured the feed-wheel 47, having a roughened surface and adapted to coperate with a corresponding upper wheel 48 for feeding the stem as the latter is cut from the leaf inward to the endless belt 19. The upper stem-feeding wheel 48vis carried at the front end of the arm 49, swung from vthe shaft 33, and having a downward yielding tension imparted to it by means of the coiled spring 50, whereby the upper wheel 48 is yieldingly pressed toward the lower wheel 47 and against the stem of the tobaccoleaf when the machine is in operation. The lower wheel 47 receives its motion from the shaft 44, while the upper wheel 48 depends for its rotary7 motion upon the friction of the stem passing between said rollers under the pressure of the spring 50.

The feed-table 18 has secured upon it the oscillatory gage-arm 51, the latter being secured at one end by means of the screw 52 or other suitable means and at its otherend entering the groove of the collar 39, as shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 6. The arm 5l carries a pin or screw 53, which extends downward through a slot 54 in the feed-table 18 and is connected at its lower end with a spring 55, whereby the gage'l is givena normal spring tension toward the feed-rollers 24 and 29, with the result that the edge of said gage 51 is kept against the stem of the leaf during the passage of the latter through the machine, as indicated in Fig. 1. The spring 55 coperates with the spring 40 in pressing the collar 39 against the stem of the leaf, since said spring 55, acting through the gage-arm 51, serves to pull against the collar 39 and to move the latter toward the upper cutter 38.

The feed-table 18, -in line with the cutting devices or the coperating cutters 26 and 38, is formed wit hthe groove 56 (clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 8) to receive the larger end of the stem (lettered 57) of the tobacco-leaf 58, during the feeding of the latter to the machine, as illustrated in Fig. 8.

In the normal at-rest condition of the machine the upper feed-roller 29 is held against the lower feed-roller 24 by means of the spring 133,the upper stem-feeding roller 48 is kept against the lower stein-feeding roller 47 by means of the spring 50, and the collar 39 on the shaft 34 is kept against the upper cutter 38 by means of the spring 40, aided by the spring 55 and gage-arm 51, said gage-arm 51 being also held at its extreme inward position by said spring 55.

When it is desired to set the machine in operation, the tobacco-leaves 58, folded llongitudinally, as illustrated in Figs. l and 3, are fed one after another to the machine, the butt-end of the stein 57 of the leaves being fed forward, as shown in Fig. 1.

The folded tobacco-leaf 58 is placed upon the feed-table 18 with its stem against the gage-arm 51, and the butt-end of the said stem inserted between the collar 39 and cutter 38. The machine being in motion, the operator will move the folded tobacco-leaf forward between the cutters 38 and 26 and the said leaf will be carried in-tothe machine, the collar 39 pressing the stem against the cutters 38 and 26, the rollers 47 and 48 taking the stem (after the latter reaches said rollers) and feeding the same rearward upon the belt 19, and the soft feed-rollers 24 and 29 receiving and feeding inward the two halves of the tobaccoleaf as said halves are relieved of the stem 57. The stems of the leaves will be carried rearward by means of the belt 1.9, and the halves of the tobacco-leaves will after passing between the rollers 24 and 29 descend immediately in rear of said rollers into any suitable receptacle placed to receive them.

It will be observed upon reference to Figs. 1 and 3 that the tobacco-stems gradually decrease in diameter toward the outer end of the leaf, and it is for this reason that the yielding collar 39 and yielding gage-arm 51 IOO IIO

are employed, since thereby the cutting of 'the stem 57 from the leaf is performed close along the edges of said stem, with a consequent saving of the tobacco-leaf. The wider end of the stem 57 is first introduced to the cutters 38 26, and in introducing this Wider end of the stem the gage-arm 51 and collar 39 are moved to the right a sufficient distance to accommodate the stem, and thereupon as the leaf passes into the machine and the stem is gradually cut therefrom the thinner portions of the stem reach the cutters and the spring 40 moves the collar 39 yieldingly against the stem. while the spring 55 yieldingly holds the table foi-guiding the stem edge of the folded leaf to said cutters and assisting in keeping the stem of said leaf close against said cutters; substantially as set forth,

3. In a tobacco-stripping machine, the feedtable to receive the folded tobacco-leaf, and the feed-rollers for feeding inward the folded halves of said leaf, combined with the rotary cut-1ers adjacent to the ends of said rollers for removing the stem from the folded leaf, the yielding collar on the shaft of one of said cutters for pressing against the stem edge of the leaf to keep the stem against said cutters,

and the yielding gage-arm on said feed-table gage-arm 51 against the folded edge of the leaf, With the result that as the gradually-decreasing thickness of the stem is reached by the cutters the said stem is by means of the collar 39 and gage-arm 5l kept close up against the cutters, so that only the stem and none of the leaf shall be removed by said cutters. The groove 56 in the feed-table 18 aids in directing the stem of the leaf to the cutters 26 and 38, and by means of the gage-arm 51 the collar 39 may be readily moved to the right in order that the thicker end of the stem 57 may be passed along said groove 56 to the said cutters. The upper feed-roller 29 is prevented from having endwise movement from the fact that the right-hand end of the yoke 3l is close to the left-hand end ofthe shaft 34, as shown in Fig. 5, and that the arm 32, carrying said yoke, is at its left-hand edge close against the lip, extending inward from the side frame l5, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5.

The machine made the subject of this application is an improvement on the machine shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 467,143, granted January 12, 1892, to Edwin L. Tevis for a tobacco-stripping machine which proposed to cut the stem from folded tobacco-leaves, and comprises a slotted trough holding the stem and a cutter below the trough and in line with the halves of the leaf, said halves extending downward through the slot of said trough and the stem by reason of its thickness being prevented from passing into or through said slot.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a to bacco-stripping machine, the feedtable to receive the folded tobacco-leaf, and the feed-rollers for the folded halves of said leaf, combined with the rotary cutters adjacent to said feed-rollers for removing the stem from the leaf, and the yielding collar on the shaft of one of said cutters to press against the stem edge of the folded leaf; substantially as set forth.

2. In a tobacco-stripping machine, the feedtable to receive the folded tobacco-leaf, and the feed-rollers to receive and feed inward the folded halves of said leaf, combined with the rotary cutters adjacent to the end of said feed-rollers for removing the stem from the leaf, and the yielding gage-arm on said feedand connected with said collar, said gagearm serving to guide the stem edge of the folded leaf to the cutters; substantially as set forth.

4. In a tobacco-stripping machine, the feedrollers 24 and 29 for feeding inward the halves of a folded tobacco-leaf, the grooved cutter 26 adjacent to the end of the feed-roller 24, the rotary cutter 38 adjacent to the end of the feed-roller 29 and adapted to coperate with said cutter 26, the stem-feeding rollers 47 and 48 in the rear of said cutters, and the belt for carrying away the stems after the latter are cut from the lea-ves; substantially as set forth.

5. In a tobacco-strippin g machine, the feedrollers 24, 29, for feeding inward the halves of the folded tobacco-leaf, the upper and lower coperating rotary cutters adjacent to g the ends of said feed-rollers, and the yielding collar on the shaft of one of said cutters for keeping the stem on the leaf close to said cutters; substantially as set forth.

6. In a tobacco stripping machine, the lower feed-roller 24, the shaft 23 upon which said feed-roller is secured, and the rotary cutter 26 on said shaft and adjacent to the end of said feed-roller, combined with the feedroller 29 yieldingly supported upon said feedroller 24, the shaft 34 above said shaft 23, the rotary cutter 38 on the inner end of said shaft and adjacent to the end of the feed-roller 29 for cooperation with said cutter 26, the upper and lower stem-feeding rollers 47 and 48 in rear of said cutters, the belt 1,9 for carrying away the stems cut from the tobacco-leaves, and mechanism for imparting motion to said shafts 23, 34, lower stem-feeding roller 47 and belt 19, the said feed-rollers 24 and 29 being adapted to feed inward the halves of a folded tobacco-leaf, while the stem edge of said leaf passes through said cutters; substantially as set forth.

7. In a tobacco-stripping machine, the feedroller 24, the shaft 23 upon which said feedroller is secured, the rotary cutter 26 on said shaft, the upper feed-roller 29, and the spring yieldingly holding said roller 29 against the roller 24, said rollers 24 and 29 being adapted to feed inward the longitudinal halves of the folded tobacco-leaf, combined with the shaft 34 above said shaft 23, the cutter 38 on the end of said shaft adjacent to the end of IOO IIO

IIS

the roller 29 for coperation With said cutter 26 in removing the stems from the leaves, gearing connecting said shafts 23, 34, the sliding collar 39 on the shaft of said cutter 38, the spring pressing said .collar 39 toward said cutter 38, and means for imparting motion to said shafts; substantially as set forth.

8. In a tobacco-stripping machine, the feedroller 24, the shaft 23 upon which said feedroller is secured, and the rotary cutter 26 on said shaft and adjacent to the end of said roller, combined with the upper feed-roller 29, the shaft 34 in line with `said feed-roller 29, the rotary cutter 38 on the inner end of said shaft 34 for coperation With the said rotary cutter 26, the lower stem-feeding roller 47 in rear of the lower rotary cutter 26, the

upper stern-feed roller 48 in rear of the upper rotary cutter 38, the spring yieldingly pressing said upper feed-roller 48 against the said roller 47, the yielding collar on the shaft 34 for pressing the stem of vthe leaf against the upper cutter 38, and means for imparting inotion to the shafts 23 and 34, and the shaft of the lower stein-feeding roller 47; substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 3d day of April, A. D. 1900.

JULUS H. SCHMIDT.

Witnesses:

CHAs. C. GILL, GUNDER GUNDERsoN. 

